Reviving Kendall

by Brandy Slaven

  “And two?” he reminds me.

  “You live on a farm?” I ask.

  He nods, “Right on the outskirts here. We don’t actually do any farming. Dad and two of my brothers run a car shop, but Mom loves the space. I guess we kind of needed it too. Five boys and all. Growing up, we had plenty of space for four wheeling and dirt bikes and everything else you can think of.”

  The five boys thing is still surprising to me, but I can’t seem to stop the image of Lucas on a dirt bike from popping into my head, “Do you still ride?”

  Shrugging, he says, “Sometimes. Not as much anymore, because I just don’t have the time.”

  “Would you show me some day?” I ask.

  That blinding smile comes back over his face, and he cuts his eyes over to me, “If it makes you happy, of course I will. I’ll even teach you to drive it too. Lincoln and I spent most of last summer restoring a couple old motorcycles. We sold one, but I could take you for a ride on the other, if you want.”

  I take a minute to ponder his words. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to drive one, but riding with Lucas would be sexy as hell. Just the thought puts those tingles underneath my skin again, “Maybe.”

  He chuckles and reaches out to take my hand. We turn onto a dirt road that leads back off into the woods. I want to ask where we’re going again, but I trust him enough not to. The woods break into a clearing. With it still being winter, sunset happens way before it’s supposed to. It’s so dark that it’s hard to make out what’s around us, but I can see where the tree line stops.

  Lucas throws the truck into park and turns it off. He jumps out then turns around, “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

  I’m skeptical, but I nod. When he shuts the door, it throws everything into complete darkness. I’d feel bad for anyone who has a fear of the dark. It’s completely pitch black and silent out here. I’ve just counted to fifty-six in my head when the little clearing is lit up. I know Lucas said to wait, but it’s so beautiful that I hop out of the truck and walk over. I look up to hundreds of twinkle lights above me. Someone has built little posts to keep them strung up and the soft glow lights up all of the space around the little area.

  “What do you think?” Lucas asks stepping out of the trees.

  I look at him like he’s lost his mind, “It’s absolutely fucking amazing! Did you do this?”

  “As much as I would love to have been the one to put that wonder on your face, I have to say no,” he admits. “Logan built this out here and used to have parties back when he was in high school. I used to sneak out here, but he’d always send me sulking back home saying I was too young.” He’s standing in front of me by this point and looking up to his face, the lights make the best backdrop behind him. Lucas couldn’t possibly be any more wonderful if he tried.

  My heart thumps wildly in my chest as he smiles down to me. “Hold that thought,” he whispers and disappears back into the truck.

  It only takes a few seconds before his windows are rolled down and that Ed Sheeran song “Perfect” comes from the speakers. It doesn’t have to be very loud to be heard, because the sound echoes around the clearing.

  Lucas walks back over to me and holds out his hand, “Dance with me?”

  Now we’re back at the point I mentioned earlier, ‘How could I possibly say no.’ So, I don’t. I place my hand in his and he pulls us together. He takes over the steps and leads us around the little space. The sound of our breathing and leather jackets rubbing together are the only sound other than the music. Our breath mingles in clouds of white from the cold, even as he puts his mouth to my ear and sings the lyrics softly. His hands are warm at my hips and I love the feel of his shoulders flexing under mine. I move them down, underneath his shirt. The feel of his skin on my fingertips starts a fire in my belly that no one other than Lucas can put out. When I move my face to his, I find him waiting as he presses his lips against mine.

  There has never been a more perfect moment in my life than this one. I don’t care if we are in the middle of nowhere or that it’s mid-winter and cold as fuck outside. It doesn’t matter that I’ll have to face reality sooner than I’d like. No. I’m taking tonight to live in this dream as long as I can.

  Before he can stop me, I have both of our jackets lying in a heap on the ground. As if I weigh nothing, he picks me up and carries me to the back of the truck without taking his lips from mine. I gasp into his mouth as my back meets the cold steel.

  He pulls away and in a deep voice that could rival Mav’s he says, “I never meant for this to happen. I just wanted to get you away for a little while. I brought some blankets just in case we stayed out here longer and got cold.”

  It only takes half a second for his words to click in my head and I pull his lips back to mine. Like I said, I’m going to live in this dream for as long as I can. “Get the blankets,” I whisper.

  “We still have that food too, if you’re hungry,” he reminds me.

  The last thing I’m thinking about in this moment in my life is food, so I shake my head.

  He kisses me lightly and sets me down. Opening the back door, he pulls out a fluffy looking comforter and a giant sleeping bag lined with flannel, “I wasn’t sure which one you’d want, so I brought both.”

  I reach up on my toes and kiss him on the cheek before he heads around the back of the truck. That fire comes back as I watch his muscles flex as he jumps into the bed. He reaches down and lifts me like a sack of potatoes. I can’t help when my lips find his again. There’s just no stopping it.

  He lets me pull off his shirt, and as before, I’m awarded the sight of that tan, tattooed and pierced skin. Without the overflowing bathtub here with us, there aren’t any distractions as my mouth closes around one of the little silver bars. Lucas groans and grabs the back of my head to keep me from moving. Letting me take my time, it isn’t until I pull away that he helps me out of my shirt and bra. His hands roam over the outside of my breasts before he places them against my naked back and pulls us together. The feel of our skin connecting satisfies some small part of me and yearns for more at the same time.

  Bending his head down, he presses his lips to that small spot underneath my ear. “Lucas,” I whisper.

  “Hmm,” he says, the sound vibrating through me.

  “Please,” I say even more quietly.

  That one little word is all that it takes for him. He opens the sleeping bag and spreads it out in the bed before helping me lay down on top of it. Getting to his knees, he goes on all fours and presses a kiss against my bellybutton. In the next few seconds, he removes the rest of my clothes, and then just sits back to look at me. Normally I’d be uncomfortable in this position, but there’s nothing there but love and desire.

  “You’re fucking beautiful, baby,” he says. “I’m one of four of the luckiest guys in the world.”

  I rise up on one of my elbows and use my other hand to crook a finger at him. He crawls back up my body and braces himself on his forearms, keeping his weight off me. That is the last thing that I want. I wrap my legs around his waist at the same time my arms go underneath his to hold onto his back. When I pull him down, he doesn’t resist. It grinds my back into the bed of the truck, and I’ll probably have bruises from it later, but they’ll be worth it.

  Lucas acts like he wants to go gentle and slow. I think that we both know that it isn’t what the other wants, so I reach up and nip him on the neck right before I lick it to soothe the sting. His hips drive into me and the denim still covering his legs rubs against me in all the right places. After seeing all of his tattoos and the bars in his nipples, I figured Lucas would be one for a little pain and I’m not wrong. When my teeth find his shoulder, he groans in my ear before rising up to strip the rest of his clothes off. The sight of Lucas bare chested is mouth-watering. Completely naked, he leaves me with a brain full of mush. He is absolutely fucking glorious, with tattoos on his lower stomach and wrap arounds on his thighs. Noticing me checking him out, he grins down at me as
he opens a condom and slips it on. The last thing any of us need right now are any little babies running around, so the more protection the better.

  He braces himself back on his forearms over me. When he opens his mouth to say something, I cover it with my hand and lift my hips to meet him. That’s all it takes for him to enter me in one swift movement. We both groan into the night air. As he moves above me, my breath catches for a second. Giving this piece of myself over to him means that I am moving on from the VanPelt brothers. Not that I’ll miss them any less, just accepting that there may be something left for me after all.

  “You ok?” Lucas asks.

  I nod as much as I can, “Better than.”

  He smiles down at me and sets a pace that has us coming apart together in no time at all. Scooting us to the edge of the sleeping bag, he zips us up in it. I’m pretty sure that it’s meant for only one person, but I don’t take up that much room, even around his size. We lay on our sides facing each other.

  Wanting to stay here forever, I’m disappointed when I feel myself falling asleep. Lucas props the other blanket under his head for a pillow and I use his arm. His body heat trapped inside the sleeping bag is better than any heater I’ve ever seen.

  When I look up to him, his eyes are closed like he’s close to the edge too. A smile crosses his lips as I reach up and kiss his chin, “I love you, Lucas.”

  At this, he raises his head and presses his lips against mine, “I love you, Kendall.”

  The next thing I know, Lucas’ body jerks against mine, “Shit, shit, shit.”

  I crack my eyes to find that it’s at least mid-morning and Lucas is beside me freaking out, apparently just waking up himself. He yanks the zipper down and I tumble out onto the frozen bed of the truck.

  I yelp and try to crawl back into the warmth.

  “I’m sorry baby. We’ve got to go. My parents are going to go fucking postal if the guys didn’t cover for me,” he says jumping up to throw his underwear and pants on. It’s a race to see who can dress the fastest and by the time that we jump in the truck we’re both laughing so hard we’re in tears.

  He checks his phone, “Fuck. The guys have called eighteen times. If my parents don’t kill me, they will for keeping you out like this.”

  I don’t know why, but it makes me laugh again and Lucas smiles at me as he presses the call button. The sound of a ringing phone comes across the Bluetooth in the truck. Lucas pulls me to him, “No matter what the consequences, this was worth it.”

  “I couldn’t agree more,” I say and press my lips against his.

  Mav’s deep voice comes over the speakers breaking us up, “What the fuck dude? Please tell me Kendall is with you.”

  It is in no way funny, but I can’t help the laugh that slips out of my lips at how much trouble we’re in.

  Flowers

  The week of Valentine’s Day comes up fast on us and none of the guys have mentioned doing anything, which I must say is exciting. I’ve never been one for big showy things, especially on that day. All it’s good for is making lonely people feel even lonelier. Lucas better be glad Goose covered for him two weeks ago, or he’d be grounded and not doing anything anyways. Thinking back on that day puts a smile on my face.

  First, because of that one stolen moment with Lucas. I never thought that I’d fall in love with anyone else after the accident. I was walking through life with blinders on, not truly living. It would sound insane if I said so out loud, but it seems as though all of my senses have awakened after being asleep for the past two years. Everything is more colorful, and even smells and sounds better.

  Second, because of the shit show that happened once we met up with the guys. Lucas and I talked about it on the ride back to my house that day, and decided it was best to tell them what had happened. Can’t have a relationship like ours and not have honesty in every aspect.

  Their reaction wasn’t as bad as I was thinking it would be, which wasn’t all together a good thing. I honestly thought Mav was going to punch Lucas in the face for a minute, but he calmed down pretty quick. Goose wasn’t pissed at all, said he was expecting it when they couldn’t find us. Teagan was the one that worried me the most, because he was the quietest. Then he jumped in and said it’s his turn next, and broke up the tension. We all laughed with him, but I’m not too sure that he was kidding.

  “Your food say something funny?” Billy asks, sitting down across from me at the lunch table.

  I shake my head, “Just thinking about something. I’m so fucking glad that it’s Friday, though, for serious.”

  “Yeah, me, too,” he says, before taking a bite of the burger on his plate. “I was thinking. You know tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, right?”

  Uh oh. I know where this is headed, and it’s not good. Billy is an ok guy, and is probably the only one in this school who isn’t a giant douche, but I’ve got my hands full with the four that I have, not to mention the fact that I don’t even see any other guys like that anymore. I try to play it off, “Yeah. I guess it is, huh.”

  Rhetorical question and he answers it anyways, “Yep, so I was thinking, why don’t we go to the movies or something? It doesn’t even have to be a real date if you don’t want it to be.”

  “That would be fun,” I say trying to think of a way to let him down gently. “But, I can’t. I’ve got stuff going on, and I’ll be busy all day tomorrow.” I’m just about to mention the fact that I have a boyfriend or four when the bell rings.

  He shrugs, “That’s fine. I’ll pick you up tonight. See you at eight.”

  Then he walks away, leaving me with my jaw on the floor.

  I search for him for the rest of the day, but he’s nowhere to be found. It isn’t until the final bell rings, and I’m headed out that I find him in the worst way possible.

  The buses are getting ready to pull away as he jumps out in front of me with a dozen red roses in his hand, “Just thought I’d get an early start on tonight.”

  When I don’t reach out to take them, he grabs my hand and I have a choice of grabbing them or letting them drop. I don’t want to be rude, so my fingers close around the stems. Surprising me even further, he leans in and drops a kiss on my cheek as he says, “See you at eight.”

  I’m too shocked to say what I had planned to all day. Honestly, I can’t do anything but watch him walk away once again, with my mouth open catching flies. It isn’t until this moment that I realize that the buses have pulled away, and there stands Goose with his arms folded across his chest. Teagan is behind him, half in, half out of Goose’s truck. Both of their faces war between hurt and pure rage.

  Walking over to them, I want to hide the roses behind my back, but it’s too late now. They’ve seen everything. I don’t say anything as I walk beside Goose and toss the flowers in the bed of his truck and jump into the middle of the bench seat. The ride to my house is silent and tense as a motherfucker.

  I think I hold my breath the entire way, and don’t let it out until we’re inside my house. That only lasts so long, though, as Mav is about ten minutes behind us.

  He storms into the house with Lucas right behind him trying to talk some sense into him. I am slowly taking my time to put up the dishes from the drying rack just to busy my hands. Shit. There’s going to be no easy way out of this. I feel his breath against my neck as his hands lean against the counter on either side of my hips, locking me in place.

  “Who is he?” he asks in a voice that is barely containing the rage sitting under the surface.

  Mav could have come at me in any other way than that one, and I wouldn’t have gotten defensive. I can’t explain it, but with those three words, I feel like he’s accusing me of something that I didn’t do. So, naturally, it kick starts my smartass mouth, “I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  His nose makes a trail from my neck up to my ear as his tone turns darker, “Don’t play with me, baby girl. Who was the guy who gave you the flowers and you let kiss you?”

 
I twist in his arms until we’re face to face, and I snap, “I didn’t let him do anything.”

  Mav crowds into my space, and out of the corner of my eye, I see Lucas and Teagan looming right over his shoulder, as Goose stands on the other side of the counter. All with their eyes on me, waiting for an answer just as Mav.

  “I’ve told you before,” he says talking low, “I don’t share well with others. The only reason this is working is because it’s the four of us. I’m not doing this shit with anybody else.”

  This pisses me off more than anything else, “I might be trailer trash, but I’m not a fucking whore, Maverick.”

  “Don’t talk about yourself like that,” Goose says, speaking for the first time.

  Without taking my eyes from Mav’s, I reply defensively, “Well, that’s what he’s making me sound like.”

  At this, Teagan jumps in, “He’s not meaning it that way. He’s just asking the question that we’re all wanting to know the answer to.”

  When I try to glance at him, Mav shifts his shoulder in my way, “Who is he, Kendall?”

  I have no choice but to look him in the face as I answer, “It’s just some guy at school. He sat down with me at lunch a couple months ago and started talking. We eat lunch together and that’s it. Today he brought out the bullshit about tomorrow being Valentine’s Day, and asked me out. When I told him no, he said he’d pick me up tonight, and before I could say anything, he left. I tried finding him to tell him that it wasn’t going to happen, but he disappeared, and I guess we’ve figured out where he went. Then, as I’m walking out to the parking lot, he ambushes me. Drops the flowers in my hand, kisses me on the cheek and runs off with a promise to be here at eight.”

  Goose chuckles darkly under his breath, “He’ll have a surprise waiting on him if he shows up here tonight.”

  “Now why couldn’t you just say that?” Mav asks, still not moving.

  I cross my arms against my chest, “Did you give me a chance to before you come in here with an attitude, acting like a crazy caveman? Me man. You woman. No share.”